The power dissipation of many computer system components continues to increase in order to achieve increases in performance. This trend poses a cooling challenge at both the component and system levels. Increased airflow rates are needed to effectively cool higher-power components, and to limit the temperature of the air that is exhausted into, for instance, a computer center.
In many large server applications, processors, along with their associated electronics (e.g., memory, disk drives, power supplies, etc.), are packaged in removable system configurations and assembled within an electronics (or IT) rack or frame. In other cases, the electronics may be in fixed locations within the rack or frame. Typically, the heat-generating components within an electronic system are cooled by air moving in airflow paths impelled by one or more air-moving devices (e.g., axial or centrifugal fans). In some cases, it may be possible to handle increased power dissipation within a system or rack by providing greater airflow through the use of a more powerful air-moving device, or by increasing the rotational speed (RPMs) of an existing air-moving device. However, this approach may be problematic at the component level dependent, in part, on system layout, and the inlet air temperature.